JUST WHEN ANDY Lee thought he was out, Paddy Donovan pulled him back in.
Former middleweight world champion Lee was 12 months retired from the sport in February 2019 when he caught the itch at Dublin’s National Stadium.
Lee, who had recently become a father for the first time, had never felt the urge to return to the ring but recognised enough of himself in young Paddy Donovan to realise that he had more left to give to the sport than he had previously imagined.
Lee was aggrieved on TG4′s co-commentary when Donovan, an artful Limerick southpaw who hailed from the Travelling community, drew the short stick from the judges in an all-time classic national Elite welterweight final with Galway’s Kieran Molloy.
Lee’s removal from boxing’s day-to-day effectively ended when Donovan’s dad, ‘Gugu’, asked Lee for advice about his son turning professional following his defeat in the 69kg showpiece.
Lee initially vowed to put the feelers out for Donovan, an elite talent who had first crossed his radar at the age of 11 under the guidance of his brother, Roger Lee.
Such was the level of interest in Donovan’s signature upon Lee’s recommendation, however, that the former middleweight took the wheel altogether: within weeks, the Irish prospect was signed to Bob Arum’s Top Rank with Lee assuming the role of Donovan’s trainer and manager.
They first got to work on 1 May 2019 and they’ll return to the office this Saturday in Belfast, where Donovan, now 14-0(11KOs) as a pro, faces the equally heralded hometown hero Lewis Crocker [20-0, 11KOs] in a final eliminator for the IBF welterweight world title, live on DAZN.
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“Me and Paddy have been together a long time and it’s been great to see him mature as a fighter and person,” says Lee of his 26-year-old protégé.
“I’m proud of the man and fighter he is. We are very, very close, I think. I’m his mentor. I’ve been mentoring him since the day I started training him.”
Theirs is not a father-son-type relationship: Donovan is a married dad of two in his own right, albeit Lee’s influence has doubtless helped him with each of those responsibilities throughout his early to mid-twenties.
Keith Sullivan, the New York City lawyer who now co-manages Donovan with Lee, describes it as being more like “an older brother mentoring his younger brother”.
“But at times it goes even deeper”, adds Sullivan, “like kindred spirits walking towards a common goal.”
Even between fights, when Donovan is off duty, Lee and his boxer will chat most days. That proved invaluable to Donovan between 2021 and 2023 in particular, when he lost several relatives in quick succession and his dear friend, fellow Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy, was murdered.
Where it felt necessary, Lee was the voice in Donovan’s ear or the hand on his shoulder, helping to haul him out of a blender brimming with grief and anger and detachment.
“My relationship with Andy feels more than just fighter-trainer,” says Donovan, whose ‘Real Deal’ moniker was suggested to him by heavyweight talent Sheehy shortly before he was killed. “We have a very close bond. He’s put me under his wing since the day I met him, guiding me in all the right ways.
Andy has made it like a journey, inside and outside the ring. To be in the position that I am in today, fighting in a world title eliminator, is a great feeling.
“Having Andy in the corner is a big bonus for any fighter”, Donovan adds, “and for me to have him in my corner is a big advantage.”
Lee’s technical acumen is not the only perk. For the last five years, Donovan has absorbed via osmosis the fight preparation of former heavyweight world champions Tyson Fury and Joseph Parker, training alongside them for showdowns of global interest including their respective victories over Deontay Wilder.
Lee was again able to sync the camps of Parker and Donovan by scheduling them to fight a week apart in Saudi Arabia and Belfast.
Donovan took on a warm-weather mini-camp in Riyadh for his upcoming showdown with Crocker as Lee geared up Parker for his heavyweight title bout with Daniel Dubois, which ultimately became a second-round knockout of Martin Bakole as Dubois withdrew through to illness.
Donovan had returned home to Ireland before all of that 11th-hour drama but were he not fighting himself this Saturday, he would have been in the dressing room with Parker and Lee, soaking in the pre-fight process just as he has with Fury on several occasions.
“I’ve been preparing him for when he’d be in the situation when it was his turn to be the headliner,” Lee says of Donovan. “Now, he’s headlining. Even though he hasn’t had that experience yet, he’s been at all of those big fights and he’ll know what to expect.”
Days removed from his ring-walk, at least, Donovan is utterly unfazed by the prospect of facing Belfast native Crocker at the SSE Arena, which will be frothing upon first sight of the Limerick antagonist on Saturday night.
The consensus is that the biggest all-Irish bout in living memory will pit a fluid, reflexive boxer in Donovan against a more front-foot aggressive puncher in ‘Croc’, but Lee and Donovan have been at pains to change that perception in the lead-up.
Donovan, after all, has a far higher knockout percentage than Crocker against a similar level of opposition to this point.
It should be stressed as well, though, that Crocker is no plodding brawler but a finely tuned technician in his own right.
The bookies see their bout as a literal 50-50, which wasn’t the case even for Dmitry Bivol’s narrow revenge victory over Artur Beterbiev in last Saturday’s main event in Saudi.
But Donovan is convinced that he has the tools to distinguish himself from his domestic rival and explode out of the bottleneck towards world honours.
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“This is one of the best fights ever in Ireland,” Donovan says.
The Irish boxing scene has been starved for many years, especially down south. My goal is now to lead the way and lift the sport to another level. I believe I’m the fighter [to become] the face of Irish boxing. I’m the person to do it.
“I’m the better boxer,” adds The Real Deal. “More skilful, punches just as hard… I’ve an 80% knockout ratio and he’s 50%. Anyone that has shared the ring with me knows exactly how hard I punch. Maybe Lewis is underestimating my power but he’ll soon find out.
Too slick. Too skilful. Too good. I win this fight by knockout. I believe I knock him out with a well-timed punch. I think he’ll get careless and he’ll walk onto a shot. I believe his lights will go out. I’ll turn them out.
The physical work is already done. As far as preparation goes, all that’s left is for Lee to ensure once again that his boxer is at the right emotional pitch for a night that could easily crush the uninitiated.
“The keys for Paddy are for him to just be himself: box smart and be precise, use his skills, punch when Crocker punches — at the same time — and go for the finish when the opportunity comes,” Lee says.
“It’s a great fight between two young fighters. Both are big punchers, both will be going for the knockout.
“It’s important for Paddy to not get emotionally involved in the fight, because it’s a big rivalry and the fight is in our country.
“There will be a lot of fans and support coming for both sides. From my experience, it’s important for Paddy to disengage from all of that and just focus on the fight and enjoy the night.”
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After six-year mentorship under Andy Lee, Paddy Donovan faces acid test in Belfast cauldron
JUST WHEN ANDY Lee thought he was out, Paddy Donovan pulled him back in.
Former middleweight world champion Lee was 12 months retired from the sport in February 2019 when he caught the itch at Dublin’s National Stadium.
Lee, who had recently become a father for the first time, had never felt the urge to return to the ring but recognised enough of himself in young Paddy Donovan to realise that he had more left to give to the sport than he had previously imagined.
Lee was aggrieved on TG4′s co-commentary when Donovan, an artful Limerick southpaw who hailed from the Travelling community, drew the short stick from the judges in an all-time classic national Elite welterweight final with Galway’s Kieran Molloy.
Lee’s removal from boxing’s day-to-day effectively ended when Donovan’s dad, ‘Gugu’, asked Lee for advice about his son turning professional following his defeat in the 69kg showpiece.
Lee initially vowed to put the feelers out for Donovan, an elite talent who had first crossed his radar at the age of 11 under the guidance of his brother, Roger Lee.
Such was the level of interest in Donovan’s signature upon Lee’s recommendation, however, that the former middleweight took the wheel altogether: within weeks, the Irish prospect was signed to Bob Arum’s Top Rank with Lee assuming the role of Donovan’s trainer and manager.
They first got to work on 1 May 2019 and they’ll return to the office this Saturday in Belfast, where Donovan, now 14-0(11KOs) as a pro, faces the equally heralded hometown hero Lewis Crocker [20-0, 11KOs] in a final eliminator for the IBF welterweight world title, live on DAZN.
“Me and Paddy have been together a long time and it’s been great to see him mature as a fighter and person,” says Lee of his 26-year-old protégé.
“I’m proud of the man and fighter he is. We are very, very close, I think. I’m his mentor. I’ve been mentoring him since the day I started training him.”
Theirs is not a father-son-type relationship: Donovan is a married dad of two in his own right, albeit Lee’s influence has doubtless helped him with each of those responsibilities throughout his early to mid-twenties.
Keith Sullivan, the New York City lawyer who now co-manages Donovan with Lee, describes it as being more like “an older brother mentoring his younger brother”.
“But at times it goes even deeper”, adds Sullivan, “like kindred spirits walking towards a common goal.”
Even between fights, when Donovan is off duty, Lee and his boxer will chat most days. That proved invaluable to Donovan between 2021 and 2023 in particular, when he lost several relatives in quick succession and his dear friend, fellow Limerick boxer Kevin Sheehy, was murdered.
Where it felt necessary, Lee was the voice in Donovan’s ear or the hand on his shoulder, helping to haul him out of a blender brimming with grief and anger and detachment.
“My relationship with Andy feels more than just fighter-trainer,” says Donovan, whose ‘Real Deal’ moniker was suggested to him by heavyweight talent Sheehy shortly before he was killed. “We have a very close bond. He’s put me under his wing since the day I met him, guiding me in all the right ways.
“Having Andy in the corner is a big bonus for any fighter”, Donovan adds, “and for me to have him in my corner is a big advantage.”
Lee’s technical acumen is not the only perk. For the last five years, Donovan has absorbed via osmosis the fight preparation of former heavyweight world champions Tyson Fury and Joseph Parker, training alongside them for showdowns of global interest including their respective victories over Deontay Wilder.
Lee was again able to sync the camps of Parker and Donovan by scheduling them to fight a week apart in Saudi Arabia and Belfast.
Donovan took on a warm-weather mini-camp in Riyadh for his upcoming showdown with Crocker as Lee geared up Parker for his heavyweight title bout with Daniel Dubois, which ultimately became a second-round knockout of Martin Bakole as Dubois withdrew through to illness.
Donovan had returned home to Ireland before all of that 11th-hour drama but were he not fighting himself this Saturday, he would have been in the dressing room with Parker and Lee, soaking in the pre-fight process just as he has with Fury on several occasions.
“I’ve been preparing him for when he’d be in the situation when it was his turn to be the headliner,” Lee says of Donovan. “Now, he’s headlining. Even though he hasn’t had that experience yet, he’s been at all of those big fights and he’ll know what to expect.”
Days removed from his ring-walk, at least, Donovan is utterly unfazed by the prospect of facing Belfast native Crocker at the SSE Arena, which will be frothing upon first sight of the Limerick antagonist on Saturday night.
The consensus is that the biggest all-Irish bout in living memory will pit a fluid, reflexive boxer in Donovan against a more front-foot aggressive puncher in ‘Croc’, but Lee and Donovan have been at pains to change that perception in the lead-up.
Donovan, after all, has a far higher knockout percentage than Crocker against a similar level of opposition to this point.
It should be stressed as well, though, that Crocker is no plodding brawler but a finely tuned technician in his own right.
The bookies see their bout as a literal 50-50, which wasn’t the case even for Dmitry Bivol’s narrow revenge victory over Artur Beterbiev in last Saturday’s main event in Saudi.
But Donovan is convinced that he has the tools to distinguish himself from his domestic rival and explode out of the bottleneck towards world honours.
“This is one of the best fights ever in Ireland,” Donovan says.
“I’m the better boxer,” adds The Real Deal. “More skilful, punches just as hard… I’ve an 80% knockout ratio and he’s 50%. Anyone that has shared the ring with me knows exactly how hard I punch. Maybe Lewis is underestimating my power but he’ll soon find out.
The physical work is already done. As far as preparation goes, all that’s left is for Lee to ensure once again that his boxer is at the right emotional pitch for a night that could easily crush the uninitiated.
“The keys for Paddy are for him to just be himself: box smart and be precise, use his skills, punch when Crocker punches — at the same time — and go for the finish when the opportunity comes,” Lee says.
“It’s a great fight between two young fighters. Both are big punchers, both will be going for the knockout.
“It’s important for Paddy to not get emotionally involved in the fight, because it’s a big rivalry and the fight is in our country.
“There will be a lot of fans and support coming for both sides. From my experience, it’s important for Paddy to disengage from all of that and just focus on the fight and enjoy the night.”
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